The present invention relates to roller bearings and particularly to a novel edge ring which is slit at least at one location about its periphery and is insertable in a correspondingly shaped annular groove of one of the rings of the bearing.
The edge or shoulder rings of roller bearings are made as separable elements from the bearing rings for various necessary reasons. For example, the machining of the races is simpler and less expensive. In cylindrical roller bearings, the raceway surfaces can be ground continuously. The separate edge or shoulder ring also simplifies assembly and disassembly of the elements of the bearing.
Roller bearings are known wherein the separately made edge rings are inserted in grooves in the bearing rings. These edge rings are constructed as either closed rings which are radially expanded or compressed as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 2,449,943. In other cases the edge rings are preformed in the nature of cup springs for insertion into the groove and are then after assembly again brought to a flat state. This construction is shown in German Pat. No. 1,105,691. U.S. Pat. No. 1,970,449 shows edge rings which are slit so that they can be compressed with a suitable tool and then slipped over the edges of the annular groove.
A roller bearing having inserted rims is also known wherein the shoulder of the bearing ring located in front of the annular groove is provided with recesses distributed about its periphery and the edge ring is provided with corresponding projections. The edge ring in this type of arrangement seats in the bearing ring with a bayonet type locking arrangement. This construction is illustrated in French Pat. No. 511,962.
With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides a roller bearing with inserted edge rings characterized by novel features of construction and arrangement facilitating ease of assembly and disassembly even in large bearing sizes. The edge rings of the present invention are of relatively simple design which can be easily manufactured and are capable of absorbing relatively high axial forces. The edge rings are capable of being firmly secured in the annular groove against rotation thereby obviating damage to the annular groove in the seating surface during installation and removal.